Ronda Rousey Mixed Martial Artist

Ronda Rousey's Fascinating Story

Ronda Rousey is considered the leader when it comes to female mixed martial arts. Ronda pioneered through the industry and took female competition to the next level while proving her endurance, skill, and ability. Today, Ronda holds the title of UFC's first female champion, one that she uses to encourage young women to get involved in competitive sporting and martial arts in general.

Ronda has always been an active and vibrant girl. With her competitive edge, its obvious to audiences everywhere that she strives for what she wants and doesn't let anything or anyone stop her. Born in 1987, Ronda grew up in Riverside, California. Her childhood was very rough, and she experienced speech problems. When she was little, her father committed suicide. While the traumatic events were tough on young Ronda, she would soon prove that nothing could hold her back.

After enduring much turmoil as a child, Ronda grew up to earn the title of a judo champion. She earned back-to-back gold medals when she competed at the Pan American Championships. In 2008, she won her first bronze medal at the Olympics. It was in 2010 that Ronda joined in on the mixed martial arts industry and she soon emerged as a star as the UFC Bantamweight Champion.

Ronda had inspired women around the world with her endurance, especially after he hard childhood. At birth it was discovered that her umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck, causing Ronda to almost die due to oxygen deprivation. Fortunately, Ronda survived but she did sustain some brain damage which later on would cause her trouble when speaking. It wasn't until she was six years old that Ronda spoke her first intelligible words.

While sledding with his daughters one winter, Ronda's dad, Ron, broke his back in a tragic accident. Later he would learn this would make him a paraplegic over the few years he had to live due to a blood disorder that prevented the injury from properly healing. Upon hearing the news, he killed himself when Ronda was only eight years old.

After the tragedy at home, Ronda struggled at school. Due to her trouble in class, she was homeschooled for some parts of elementary and high school. But, luckily for Ronda, she found a way to express herself and come out of her shell when her mother, Ann Maria DeMars, introduced eleven-year-old Ronda to Judo and persuaded her to start practicing.

Ronda's mother won the gold medal in the 1984 World Championships, and she taught her daughters everything she knew about competing. Ronda caught on quickly, and at age fifteen she was given the chance to compete with the United States Olympic team. When she was sixteen, she earned the title of the youngest American in history to win the national number one rank in the women's half-middleweight division. In the 2004 Olympics, Ronda didn't win a medal, but she did claim two gold medals that same year with the World Junior and Pan American Judo Championships.

In 2006, Ronda returned to defend her title at the Pan American Judo Championship, and the match made her the first American woman in over a decade to earn a World Championship title when she finished second at the tournament in 2007. That same year, she won a gold medal at the Pan American Games, even though she suffered from a torn knee meniscus at the time. When she won the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, she soon retired from her successful judo career when she was 21.

After ending her judo career, Ronda took on work as a bartender, and for a short time she lived in her car in LA. It wasn't long before she joined the Glendale Fighting Club in 2010, and she has since worked her way up to the title of championship competitor.

Ronda is considered a pioneer for women in the world of mixed martial arts, and her success in the field as led to an influx in young girls getting into the mainly-male dominated sector. With all of the attention earned from her great athletic skills, she soon took on work as an actress and has also done some modeling spreads for different magazines.

Many critics are beginning to question whether or not Ronda will return to the brutal sport that made her into the celebrity she is today, but Ronda has reassured her fans that she is a devoted athlete and plans to stick with the sport while pursuing other athletic interests.